Fellowship | Leadership | Positive Change
Driven by Purpose.
Fellowship
The cornerstone of BMLA is for African American male lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students to network and fellowship with one another on a regular basis in order to create organic relationships and mentorship opportunities. Our main avenues for accomplishing this goal are the Annual Leadership Summit and Quarterly Round Table Discussions.
Leadership
You can either lead, follow, or do nothing. We choose to lead. It is no secret that various obstacles impact African American males in the legal field, including the alarmingly low number of partners and associates in law firms, the retention of African American lawyers in law firms, lack of business development opportunities, incredibly low numbers on the judiciary, low law school attendance, and a lack of mentorship opportunities. BMLA has been and is implementing initiatives to directly address these serious issues.
Positive Change
As lawyers, we are in a unique position to effectuate positive change not only within our bar association and other like-minded bar associations but also within our community. We seek to be the positive change that lifts our communities.
Calendar of Events
August
Office Hours, an in-person or virtual event for current and prospective BMLA members for fellowship, mentorship, and networking.
September
Annual Golf Outing and Fundraiser.
· Q3 General Membership Meeting & Networking Event, an in-person or virtual discussion amongst BMLA members on the current state of the organization. Led by the BMLA Board of Directors.
October
Suit & Tie Mixer, a celebration for networking among law students and practicing attorneys.
BMLA Roundtable, an in-person or virtual roundtable discussion on hard-hitting topics impacting BMLA membership.
November
Joint Holiday Event with Cook County Bar Association, Black Women Lawyers' Association, and Illinois Judicial Council.
December
1st Annual BMLA Holiday Party.
Sunga Mkwezalamba, Chairman/Co-Founder, BMLA | Corporate Counsel, Amazon
Keith Allen, Vice President | Of Counsel, Evans & Dixon, LLC
Calvin Townsend II, Secretary, BMLA | Founder, Townsend Law Group, LLC
Michael A. Wilder, Co-Founder, BMLA | Chair, Board of Directors, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
The Hon. Travis Richardson (Ret.), Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Cook County Clerk
Steven Hunter, Partner, Chairman, National Diversity Committee, Quarles & Brady LLP
Lindsey D.G. Dates, Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Jimmie Covington, Vice President, Counsel, AllianceBernstein
Reginald Guy II, Partner, Mercer Oak
Azuka C. Dike, Intellectual Property Attorney, Banner Witcoff
Abiola Kalejaiye, Founder, Big Leaf
Gino Betts, Assistant State's Attorney, Director of Seattle’s Office of Police Accountability
Yoshi Haynie, Associate, Faegre Drinker
Marcellus H. Moore, Jr., Partner, Child Advocate Law Group
Dominique Price, Associate, • Scharf Banks Marmor
Alton Bradley, Corporate Investigations Counsel, Accenture
Cameron Woods, Sr. Counsel, McDonalds
Wesley Morrissette, Assistant US Attorney, US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois)
Board of Directors
Associate Board
Fredrick "TJ" Joshua, Chairman, Associate Board, BMLA | Associate, Reed Smith LLP
Edward L. Speights, Jr., Managing Partner, SOS Legal Services LLP
Joseph S. Deloney, Judicial Law Clerk, Illinois Appellate Court, First District
Jason A. Pica II, Associate, Dussias Wittenberg Koenigsberger, LLP
Alexander Hardaway, Commercial Manager of North America, DYWIDAG International-USA
Gerard Belfort, Associate, Ballard Spahr LLP
Christopher Jones, Law Student, University of Pennsylvania, Carey Law School
Avai D. Beck, Associate, Schouest, Bamdas, Soshea, BenMaier & Eastham
Stahili Muhammad, Associate, Dussias, Wittenberg, & Koenigsberger, LLP
Robert Johnson, 3L Student, The University of Chicago Law School
Victor Aberdeen, Cook County State's Attorney